Set up an ongoing communications process – Google Apps for Work User Manual
Page 97
Change Management Guide
97
Life After Go-Live
Set up an ongoing communications process
Someone is always telling you to communicate—and for good reason.
Doing so can help identify and solve residual problems, improve adoption
rates of core features, and set the stage to expand from core features to
more advanced, specialized features.
Identify a resource on your team who will focus on user adoption and the
continuing release of new Google Apps and updates. This person can help
test new features for your organization and promote them to the user
community. Consider establishing a Google Group, newsletter, blog, or
site where you can share this information with your user community.
Here are some other best practices for ongoing user communications:
•
Target future communications and tell the right users how the
change will affect them.
•
Give users simple and clear instructions for learning more—
simple steps to try the new feature, new web-based learning
resources on a “What’s Noogle” site, or a link to a Google Apps
Documentation & Support site article.
•
Promote user innovation by publicizing unique ways of using new
features in your organization that are discovered by users. Give them a
special Google t-shirt.
The result: Users who are informed and not surprised about new
Google Apps releases.
“Communicate about important
new features and create realistic
expectations. Your users will really
appreciate that.”
—María Cristina Peláez,
Change Management Coordinator,
eForcers S.A.
eForcers S.A. is a Google Apps Enterprise
Engage users often
Learning from Solarmora, a fictionalized company
Andy knew that his users would be excited about
the new and innovative features released in Google
Apps. How would he keep his user community
informed of all the great new stuff coming out for
Google Apps?
Aha! Andy put a process in place to keep his users
updated on the latest Google Apps features. Andy
created a group called “Google News” for all the
Google Guides. The group decided to have an open
membership to any user in the organization
interested in serving. Andy appointed a go-to
person in IT to keep up-to-date on the latest
features. The group met once a month and created
a Google update for the Google News group. He
found the tools for this by visiting
For major changes that would affect a large portion
of the company’s user community, Andy’s newly
minted “User Adoption Specialist” put together a
change management cookbook, one with all kinds
of new incentives to get on board and stay on
board. Examples: webcams, tablets, and quarterly
innovation awards for the user with the most useful
App innovation. He also drew up more detailed
communications plan—one that used email, sites
and posters. The adoption specialist also became
the resident Google for Work expert; he subscribed
to the Google for Work blog to keep up on user
innovations with Google Apps. He posted them—
often with his own and others’ commentary—on
the News site.